The Name of the Game
by WillaEnders
Summary: Set during 6th year, The Weasley's play host to an exchange student. Draco finds that he can't get her off of his mind. What will happen when Harry and Draco fall for the same girl? Please read and review. Rated M for later possible chapters.
1. Kindred Spirits

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

The Name Of The Game

Chapter 1: Kindred Spirits

The sun broke through the tattered drapes that hung over the window of the Weasley's guest bedroom. Harry didn't even stir. He just sat motionless, and awake in the bed. He had been awake the entire night. Sleep wasn't an option for him anymore. If he fell asleep then the nightmares would soon follow, and soon he would have to see the faces again. The faces of all those who had died, Sirius, Cedric, his parents. Even awake he saw them.

Ron and Hermione had tried to comfort him all summer, but nothing seemed to work. They just didn't understand how he felt. Harry had stayed with the Weasley's all summer. Hermione had just arrived a few days ago, and was to stay until school started in a week.

This particular morning Mrs. Weasley had a special surprise in store for the whole family. The enthusiasm was killing Ron. It was annoying everybody else.

There was a light knock on the door.

"Harry, breakfast is ready," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I'll be down in a minute"

Harry very badly wanted to tell Mrs. Weasley how he really felt. He wanted to yell at her, and tell her he didn't want to be bothered. But she was the closest thing he had to a mother. He couldn't do that to her.

A few minutes later he heard Hermione and Ginny walking past his room in a fit of giggles. The laughter stopped when they passed his door. The laughter always stopped when someone passed his door. A moment later Ron, George, and Fred walked passed talking about the latest Chudley Cannon's victory, but the conversation soon stopped as they walked passed his door. The conversations always stopped when they walked passed his door.

Harry drug himself out of bed and ran his hands through his tatty bed head. He changed into a blue hoodie, before opening the door and walking down the stairs. The Weasley's were already fighting over something stupid, none the less. Hermione sat quietly watching, until she spotted Harry.

"Good morning Harry! How did you sleep?"

"Oh wonderfully, thank you" he answered sarcastically.

Mrs. Weasley handed him a plate full of morning foods. Everyone knew that Harry hardly ate anymore. He ate what he needed to stay alive, and that was all. Ron leaned over to Harry,

"So mate, what do you suppose the big surprise is?" he asked

"Dunno," he replied.

"I think it's a dog. Or maybe a dragon"

"Ron, don't be ridiculous, you are not getting a dragon." Hermione chimed in

"If Hagrid can get one, so can we" Ron retaliated

"I don't know if you remember Ron, but Hagrid got that dragon off of Professor Quirrell, who just happened to be hosting Lord you-know-who. Oh yeah, there's also the detail about how he got it taken away!"

"Oh yeah, bring that up again." Ron said

"Alright everyone! I know you have all been excited about my big announcement. Well Ron has anyways." Said Mrs. Weasley

The whole room was silent. Ron was on the edge of his seat.

"Well I don't know how to say this but…"

Just then the doorbell rang.

"We are hosting an exchange student, which will be going to Hogwarts with you all, and she's at the door now." She said so quickly that it was hard to even understand what she had said.

The room was still silent.

"A girl?" Ron asked

"A girl!" Fred and George said together, grinning.

"A GIRL! And where will she be staying?" Ginny demanded

"Well with you of course Gin" Mrs. Weasley said as she quickly headed for the door, before her daughter could even start with a counterargument.

She opened it to reveal Dumbledore, and a tall red head with wavy long hair. With her she was carrying several bags. She wore a pink tank top with three buttons on the front, with a purple colored cardigan over it. With it she had a pair of dark blue denim jeans, and black slouch boots. The girl was overall ordinary, and she seemed to be the same age as the trio.

"Dumbledore! Great to be seeing you again!" Said Mr. Weasley, getting up to shake his hand.

"Yes it is and wonderful seeing you all here as well" said Dumbledore, with a slight gesture towards Harry.

"Please come on in, let me take your bags dear" said Mrs. Weasley.

"Everyone I would like to introduce Danielle Golding. She came all the way here from Dalewood, Connecticut" said Dumbledore.

Danielle stepped forward and shot a perfect smile.

"Hi everyone, it's nice to finally meet you. You can call me Danielle."

George was the first to stand and offer his hand out to her.

"I'm George, master of trickery and love," He said with a wink. Fred stood up too and offered his hand to Danielle.

"Yes and I'm his brother Fred, he gets it all from me." Hermione giggled.

"Nice to meet you." Danielle said.

"My name is Hermione Granger. Is this your first time being in London?" Asked Hermione.

"Actually no, I used to live here when I was little." She said, but she seemed uneasy at the topic.

"Wonderful! Well I suppose we will be getting to know each other a lot, being Gryffindors together and such."

"Actually Ms Granger I don't believe that is entirely true. All the exchange students will be sorted into houses at the start of the year feast, just like you all went through." Said Dumbledore matter-of-factly.

"Oh, well than she should have nothing to worry about. A Gryffindor is brave, and smart. You seem like you would fit in perfectly, right Ginny?"

"Oh yeah of course, nothing to worry about." Said the fiery red head.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce the rest of the gang," said Mrs. Weasley "That over there is Ron, that's Ginny, you'll be rooming with her for the time being, that's Mr. Weasley, you can call him Arthur. Oh and that over there is Harry.

"Well it's great to meet you all," said Danielle. Harry couldn't help but notice that Danielle was looking a little bit strangely at him.

"Please sit down, get yourself some breakfast! Later you'll get to know everyone better. Oh, I have a wonderful idea! Fred, George why don't you too take Danielle down to your joke shop later! It will be a wonderful chance for you all to bond." Mrs. Weasley suggested.

"Of course! That is a spectacular idea!" George almost yelled.

"I agree completely! A Fantastic idea indeed!" Fred said

"Well than it's settled."

"What do you think Danielle dear?" Asked Mrs. Weasley

"I know you! You're Harry Potter! You-"

This set Harry off the edge. The same edge he had been standing on for a long while.

"The boy who lived! Yes I know, I defeated Voldemort when I was only one years old, and I also witnessed the death of Cedric Diggory a year ago, when the dark lord returned. Would you like to see my scar?" Harry yelled as he thrust his hair back to reveal his lightning bolt shaped scar. He shoved his chair back and bolted up the stairs to his room.

The entire kitchen was silent. Everyone looked at Danielle awkwardly.

"I was just going to say that he was an excellent Quidditch player."

"I am so sorry for that, he's been going through a bit of a rough time."Ron said

"Oh, I understand. Maybe I should go talk to him." Danielle suggested

"I think maybe he needs some time to blow off some steam." Hermione said

"I feel terrible about this all." Danielle said

"It's fine really. We'll talk to him before we go to the joke shop, and calm him down."Hermione said

"Sure, sure. Oh and please let him know that I am really sorry."

"Of course" replied Hermione

Hermione and Ron both disappeared into the living room. Danielle stood alone in the hallway.

"This is going to be a long summer" said Danielle

Hermione traveled up to Harry's room, with Ron and Danielle on her heels, and gently knocked on the door.

There was no noise from within his quarters, but this was nothing unusual considering that Harry had barely spoken a word to anyone in days.

"Harry it's just me and Ronald. We want to know if you're alright."

A very inaudible 'fine' was heard from within the room.

Hermione sighed, "Look Danielle didn't mean anything by it. She said she just wanted to tell you she really likes how you play quidditch." Hermione reassured her sullen friend.

Nothing was heard again.

"Yeah mate, she really wanted you to know she didn't mean anything by it. If it's alright she would like to apologize." Ron said

"Fine" Harry silently spoke. Ron and Hermione exchanged a surprised look. They looked back at a very surprised looking Danielle. Hermione and Ron gave her a reassuring look that seemed to say good luck, before heading back downstairs.

Danielle knocked before softly opening the door to Harry's messy quarters. She looked around at the scattered books, and items of clothing lying around the floor. Finally she found Harry sitting by the window, arms folded in front of his chest, legs propped up on the window sill. It appeared that he hadn't noticed her come in, but then he turned his head away from the particularly dull view, and stared blankly at Danielle.

"May I have a seat?" she asked as she gestured towards his bed. Harry shrugged.

"Listen Harry I know that we seemed to have gotten off on the wrong note downstairs, but I really am sorry if I humiliated you in any way."

"Its fine, you didn't know right. Or at least that's what you told everyone downstairs." Harry said rather bluntly and sarcastically.

"I guess you want the truth then."

Harry's look suggested that was exactly what he wanted.

"Ok well first off, I have no parents. Just like you. When I was about one year old, my parents were working at the hospital wing. I was left with my aunt. To this day I'm still not quite sure what happened to them, but from what I've been told they were murdered. I don't know who did it, or why. But Harry we are more alike then you think." Danielle said

Harry stared at Danielle, but with a different expression then before. It was more an expression of understanding.

"Look I know that I am the last person you thought would know what you're going through, but the truth is that hope comes in the strangest of forms. I know who you are, and about the boy who lived. For your sake though, nobody needs to know that." Danielle said to a still confused looking Harry.

"Yeah, I understand." Harry simply said

"I don't know about you, but I don't think that Fred and George can stand me being up here alone with you. In fact I am pretty sure that they are listening at the door as we speak." Suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps moving down the stairs was made. Danielle giggled, and this made Harry do something that he felt he hadn't done in a long time, smile.

The two got up and shook hands, declaring a silent but understood truce. When they made their way downstairs everybody was waiting to go the joke shop.

"Everything alright I take it." Said Hermione

"Everything is…" Danielle looked at Harry.

"Everything is great" He finished. He smiled at his new friend. He was glad to have someone who knew what he was going through. Now he would have her with him for a whole summer, and through the school year to help him cope. Danielle was like a guardian angel sent to him at his worst time. Deep inside Harry knew that this was going to be a long summer.

**You all are probably wondering what is going on. Well this is obviously not an "official" update. I edited the story a little and combined chapters, but nothing was deleted I promise! Read it again if you please, while I encourage all new readers to do the same. A real update is on the way though I promise! **


	2. Unpleasant Greetings

Chapter 2: Unpleasant Greetings

It had been two long weeks, and finally it was time for the trio (plus Danielle) to return to Hogwarts. The time spent at the Weasley's had been awkward, but everyone seemed to love Danielle. That is everyone except Ginny, who still did not like the idea of someone sharing her room.

After Harry and Danielle had their discussion things had been easier. The days went by faster and soon even Harry was excited to go to Hogwarts. Danielle was sorted through letter and she was placed in Gryffindor on account of all her new friends being in the same house. Even though the new students were suppose to be sorted with the first years, Dumbledore thought it would be better for the students to be with their host families.

Platform nine and three quarters was already crowded with students new and old. The gang made their way onto the train and into a compartment.

"You will love Hogwarts. To most of us it's become like a second home." Hermione told Danielle

"I hope so. My other school wasn't very welcoming. It was just sit down, shut up, and take notes." She replied with a laugh.

Harry sat in front of Danielle. His eyed were closed but he wasn't asleep.

"I can't wait to get there." Ron said

"You just can't wait to get there because you want to stuff your face with food." Said Hermione

"What's your point?" he asked

"My point is that you are not just going there to eat, you are going there to learn and to enrich your mind. Doesn't that occur in your mind at all?"

"Sorry what, I thought I heard the sweet trolley coming by." He replied.

Danielle couldn't help but laugh, and Hermione soon joined in.

The laughter soon stopped though when the compartment door was rudely thrown open. In the doorway stood none other then Draco Malfoy and his crew.

"Well look what the rat dragged in." Said Ron.

"It's what the cat dragged in Ronald. What do you want Malfoy?" Said Hermione

"I just heard that there was a new student aboard your compartment. Just thought I would stop in and say hello." He said as he winked at Danielle. She blushed.

"Danielle Golding and you are?"

"Draco Malfoy, of the pureblood Malfoy's. I'm sure you've heard of us."

Danielle could already see he was arrogant and cocky. But she also couldn't help but notice that he was very handsome.

"Sorry, I only make a habit of memorizing important things, like what shoes I'm wearing, or what I was planning on eating for dinner." She replied

Hermione and Ron both snorted. Draco was not amused. He turned and huffed out the compartment, obviously embarrassed with his defeat.

"That was impressive", said Ron.

"Thanks" Danielle said as she sat back down into her seat. Danielle turned and looked out the window, gazing out into the rain that fell down the glass. Hermione and Ron were still on the Draco ordeal.

'_They must really hate him_' she thought.

Harry opened his eyes just wide enough to look at Danielle. She was so beautiful. Her red hair was in a ponytail, like it had been most of the summer. She wore a navy blue over sweater, with three buttons up the front. Her maroon converse were covered by her boot-cut jeans. She was staring out into the rain, and her expression was unreadable. She was thinking about something he could tell, but he couldn't help but wonder what. He saw her glance in his direction, and he quickly closed his eyes.

'_Maybe she didn't notice_' he thought. He dared to open his eyes a few seconds later. She was staring out the window again.

'_That was close_' Thought Harry.

Danielle could feel eyes on her. Hermione and Ron were both still talking about Draco. She glanced in Harry's direction just long enough to see him looking at her. He quickly closed his eyes. She smiled to herself.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the train stopping.

They had arrived.

She had arrived, at Hogwarts.

Danielle was completely and totally overwhelmed by the amount of beauty that this one building held. She had already taken her seat at the Gryffindor table and was listening to Dumbledore speak…

Well she was half listening, because honestly she couldn't focus. She was too excited to concentrate on one thing. All she could think about was what she would do first, what her room would look like, and what the classes would be like.

"Now before I let you all start your dining, I would like to announce one more thing. It is a Hogwarts tradition that when there are visitors in the castle, there will be a Yule Ball held."

There was a great murmur throughout the crowd.

"What's a Yule Ball?" asked Danielle.

"It's a dance held in the great hall in the month of December. We had one two years ago." Said Hermione

Harry and Ron didn't look nearly as excited as Ginny and Hermione did.

"It was hard enough finding dates the first time." said Ron, Harry snorted

"Yeah and even so, I found our dates remember." He told Ron

"Yeah, yeah. Let's bring that up again."

"Well it'll be harder for me. I'm new, I hardly know anyone yet." Said Danielle

"I don't think it will be a problem" said Seamus with a wink. Danielle blushed

Across the room, Danielle could feel eyes on her. Unwelcome eyes.

When she turned to look Draco Malfoy was staring directly at her. She turned away, hoping he would too, but she could still feel that awful stare on her back.

The feast had started and everyone, especially Ron, had dug in. Danielle stood up and brushed off her robes.

"I'm going to find a restroom. I'll be right back." She said

Ron looked up still in between bites, "Neep an elp-?" he asked

Danielle stared at him confused.

"I think what Ronald was trying to say was, need any help." Hermione suggested

Ron nodded.

"No thank you, I think I can manage." Danielle replied with a smile

With that she was out of the great hall and into the long corridor. She was looking for a restroom, when she felt those eyes again, and even though before they felt uncomfortable, and unwelcome now they felt relaxing, especially because she was alone, and a little frazzled.

Danielle turned around and was pinned against a wall by Draco Malfoy. He pressed his lips against hers hard. She tightened immediately at his touch, but soon she loosened and let her lips melt into his. Draco's lips tasted like sugar; probably from some sort of dessert he had been eating, but still wonderful in every way. As the kiss deepened, and Draco's hands began to roam, Danielle began to realize that not only was this kiss amazing and sensual and wonderful, but it was also very forbidden. It had been clear that her new friends hated this person with every fiber of their being. She quickly broke apart the kiss.

Draco had this mischievous look on his face. Danielle tried to escape his embrace, but Draco tightened his arms around her shoulders.

"Why are you trying to get away, you know that you liked that just as much as I did." He said to her

"I can't Draco; I'm supposed to hate you. You're a Slytherin, I'm a Gryffindor. It just can't happen. Get it?" Danielle said as she tried again to get away, but without success.

"I bet you don't even know my name. I know what kind of guy you are. You're the kind of guy who wants only one thing, and that's a quick "shag" as you would say. You don't care about who I am, or what I want." Danielle said coldly

Draco looked dumbfounded and almost hurt. His expression soon turned to disgust. He loosened his grip on Danielle as she wriggled out.

"You seem to think you know a lot about me, Danielle." He said matter of factly. With that he stalked off down towards the Great Hall again. Danielle stood still trying to digest what had just happened.

Draco had followed her out of the Great Hall, where he pinned her against a wall, made out with her and then she told him off.

"Why did I do that?" She asked herself out loud.

She turned and headed off to find the restroom, like she had planned. Pretending nothing happened.

Back in the Great Hall things were quieting down. Dumbledore was dismissing the students and the food was vanishing before their eyes. Danielle subtly tried to look for Draco. He was nowhere in sight.

"Are you ok?" asked Harry "You seem a little out of it."

"Yeah, just overwhelmed I gue-" Danielle had bumped into someone.

"Watch it new girl" said Draco.

"She has a name!" Hermione yelled at him.

"Well you know me, I'm not good with name" Draco responded looking directly at Danielle. Her heart sunk with embarrassment.

"Don't let him get to you." Hermione reassured her.

"Why would I, he's just a jerk right?"

The gang had stopped in front of a large picture frame, with a fat lady reading a book and not paying attention to them.

"Gooey Gumdrops" said Ron

The picture frame looked at the group in front of her, and rolled her eyes. She opened the frame and the gang walked in through the portrait hole. Inside was an amazing set of old furniture next to a blazing fireplace, and a bookcase full of books she had never read in America.

This was the Common Room Danielle learned. Hermione lead her up to the girl's dormitory, but not before they both said goodnight to Harry and Ron. The girl's room was not as impressive as Danielle had expected.

"Well I am exhausted, goodnight!" Hermione said before heading to her bed.

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight!" Danielle replied. She put on her PJ's, a pink thermal long sleeved top and a pair of purple and pink striped shorts. She hit the bed with a thunk and her mind sailed with thoughts and memories of the day. She fell asleep with one thing on her mind…Draco Malfoy.

**You all are probably wondering what is going on. Well this is obviously not an "official" update. I edited the story a little and combined chapters, but nothing was deleted I promise! Read it again if you please, while I encourage all new readers to do the same. A real update is on the way though I promise! **


	3. Try Too Hard

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Harry Potter. Only the wonderful J.K Rowling owns them!

Chapter 3: Try Too Hard

The next morning Danielle woke up feeling restless. She couldn't remember falling asleep and she knew that she hadn't gotten much of it. A million things had been running through her mind.

Anxiety for the first day of classes, and now Draco. Hermione was already up and getting ready for breakfast. She looked over and saw Danielle sitting up and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Sleep well?" Hermione asked as she applied a small amount of foundation to her face.

"Not exactly" Danielle replied.

"Nervous about classes?" she asked. Now she was doing a charm on her hair to try and keep it in a nice ponytail. Even with magic, a few stray curls escaped the hair style.

"I guess so. At least I have you there with me, right?" Danielle said.

She was not about to tell Hermione about Draco and the kiss. Being new was hard enough, but she couldn't afford to lose the friends she already had managed to make. And besides, she liked her new friends.

"Right! I hear we have double potions this morning." Hermione was still trying to charm her hair. This time even more hair had forced itself out of the ponytail. She was obviously struggling. Danielle got up and began her morning ritual. She charmed her robes on, and began on her own hair. She threw it effortlessly into a curly ponytail. Hermione turn and looked at her helplessly. Danielle laughed and used the same charm on Hermione's hair. Her hair began to twist itself into a neat ponytail, much like Danielle's.

"Better?" asked Danielle.

"Much, thank you." Hermione said. She laughed as she examined her hair in the mirror. "Where did you learn that?" she asked Danielle.

"I'm pretty good with charms." Danielle replied.

Hermione couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She wasn't used to having someone being better than her at something, or anything for that matter. Ever since she began Hogwarts, she had been the best in her class, probably even in the school. She smiled and pretended not to care. The last thing she needed was to have an enemy in her 6th year at Hogwarts. She wanted to make it a memorable year.

"Well we have an excellent charms professor here at Hogwarts." She said

"What about potions, I'm pretty good in that class too. How's the professor in that class?" Danielle asked as she started on her makeup, which consisted of a light green eye shadow and a light pink blush.

Hermione again felt that twinge of jealousy. She couldn't help it; it was creepy up inside her stomach like a snake.

"Well Professor Snape is very tough. You'll never survive him." She said plainly. Danielle clearly looked surprised at the sudden change of attitude.

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked with a chilling but friendly smile. "Ron and Harry should be expecting us."

The Great Hall was already pretty crowded with students when Danielle and Hermione arrived. They quickly spotted Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Danielle sat down and desperately tried to remember everyone's names. She recognized Seamus and Dean. The blonde was Luna. Hard as she tried she could not remember the fat boy's name. The nerves she had seemed to melt away when she looked at Harry smiling.

Something about him made her feel calm and at ease. It did not go unnoticed to Hermione and Ron that whenever Danielle was around Harry was different. He was happy. Harry had become like a brother to Danielle.

In Harry's mind Danielle was much more. He wasn't sure what yet, but he felt something.

Across the Great Hall Draco Malfoy sat with his Slytherin friends. He could hear Crabbe talking about something completely irrelevant again. He wasn't listening to him at all though. His focus was on someone else. Danielle Golding was stuck in his mind. He had tried to forget her after she had turned him down in the corridor, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

There she was laughing at something Potter had said. Her beautiful red hair swished with every giggle.

Draco felt like a complete fool. He had taken a huge risk, but he was almost sure that Danielle felt the same way. The more he thought about it the more he wondered what exactly it was he felt. It obviously was not love; Malfoy's don't fall in love. He wasn't even sure if his parents were ever in love. Crushes were for first years. He concluded that it must be lust. A few hormones were out of whack. As soon as Draco came to this conclusion he was interrupted out of his thoughts by a certain Pansy Parkinson.

"Draco, what are you staring at?" She asked in her annoying shrill voice.

"What's it to you Parkinson?" Draco asked as he broke out of his trance. Pansy didn't look hurt in the least bit. Instead she looked more intrigued.

"Oh I see. You like little miss America don't you? Well I can fix that Draky." Pansy said as she managed to slide her hand onto his thigh.

Inside Draco felt like vomiting. Pansy was disgustingly experienced. He knew that she slept around, and she had tried to hook up with him on several occasions, but Draco never gave in.

The truth with Draco was that he was a virgin. He would never admit this with anyone, especially his father. Malfoy's were supposed to be seducers, ready to seduce whoever they may have to. He on the other hand figured that the Dark Lord wouldn't need him to do his bidding for a few more years. It wasn't like he was waiting until marriage, he knew that was ludicrous. He just didn't want to do it with any of the other girls that had offered it to him.

As far as Hogwarts knew he was a ladies man.

Draco turned toward Pansy and closed in on her ear.

"Get over it Pansy. Your disgusting and I will never want to be with you." He whispered in her ear as he casually shoved her hand off of his leg.

Now Pansy looked pissed. She threw her black hair over her shoulder and got up. She began to walk away as she stopped and looked at Danielle who she now noticed was staring at Draco.

"I will not have her win." Pansy said silently as she stomped away out of the Great Hall.

Hermione and Danielle made their way into potions class. Professor Snape was not in the room yet, as he liked to make a dramatic entrance. Hermione insisted on sitting in the front, and Danielle reluctantly followed.

"So is there a specific reason why it is so cold down here?" asked Danielle as she rubbed her arms.

"Other than the fact that Professor Snape is a naturally cold and dark person, nope" Hermione said as she laughed.

Across the room Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson sat together. Draco was trying to not listen to Pansy squawk in his ear, but he found it hard to tune her out. Almost instantly his gaze fell on the back of a beautiful red haired girl.

_Great_ he thought to himself. _That is the last thing I need._

He knew that at least with Pansy as his partner he wouldn't get distracted.

Suddenly the room fell silent and it didn't take long to realize why. Professor Snape had paraded into the dungeon he called a classroom.

Class started instantly. They were to brew up a love potion. Hermione and Danielle began on theirs.

"So I couldn't help but notice a certain-hand me the mandrake extract-connection between you and a certain acquaintance." Hermione casually said

Danielle felt like a deer in the headlights. She froze up. She had been caught! She just knew it! Hermione had found out about Draco and Danielle's little escapade in the corridor the other day. She didn't know how to explain this to Hermione. Wait! She could say that she was cornered and the only way to get him to go away was to give in to him. Or better! She could say that he forced himself on her and then-

"Danielle!" Hermione interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh! What did you say?" she asked again, trying to play dumb.

"Mandrake extract please" Hermione repeated looking a bit worried.

"Oh right, here you go" she said as she quickly handed her a vile.

"Are you ok Danielle?" Hermione asked

"Yes of course, why?" Danielle asked. She was secretly hoping that Hermione had forgotten what she said.

"Because you handed me essence of hippogriff" Hermione said.

"Oh! Sorry" Danielle said as she fumbled for the correct ingredient.

"Thanks" she replied, "So you and Harry huh?" Hermione said with a smirk.

"Me and who?" asked Danielle completely baffled.

"You and Harry. I noticed a strong chemistry between you two."

"Oh me and Harry! Yeah I guess there is a slight connection." Danielle said. She was off the hook. Hermione thought that she and Harry would make a good couple. Now that she thought about it though. She and Harry would be a pretty good match. She thought he was more like a brother, but Harry and her shared a bond that she and Draco could never share. Harry would be the perfect distraction from Draco.

Danielle turned to look at Harry and Ron. They were goofing off of course, but something about Harry caught her eye. It was the sulkiness behind the smile. He was hiding pain that no one else in the world could possibly imagine. No one else but her.

Danielle turned back to Hermione. "You might be right."

"Of course I'm right, I'm-now I need the essence of hippogriff-always right" Hermione said as Danielle handed her the vile of essence of hippogriff.

Professor made his way across the room to start checking the student's potions. Danielle had taken over Hermione's work only to realize that there was another way to make the potion and instead of adding rose petals, she added orchid petals. Hermione looked horrified.

"What did you just do? You just added the wrong ingredient!" she screamed. Harry and Ron had turned and looked to the girl's station. Hermione's face was turning red and she looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown. Professor Snape had noticed the scuffle and glided over to the station. He took one glance into the cauldron and glanced at Danielle curiously.

"How did you know that orchid petals could be a substitute for rose petals miss…"

"Golding" Danielle said, "Danielle Golding."

"Miss Golding. I have never had a student make a potion stronger than it says to in the directions, but by adding orchid petals you have made a potion twice as strong as normal love potion," Snape said, his expression plain. "Congratulations." He said as she strode away.

Hermione looked like she might faint. Danielle had surpassed her in a class on her very first day of classes. The jealous feelings that were brewing about before were returning to her stomach. Ron was giving her thumbs up, while Harry simply smiled. A few other students gave Danielle a high five or a hand shake of congratulations.

Hermione on the other hand was still frozen into place. She noticed however that Draco Malfoy was not. He was clearly showing signs of satisfaction.

Things were changing at Hogwarts for Hermione Granger and she did not like it…not one bit.

**Wow sorry about the lack of updates. I am so busy with classes. I should have time to update this week because of Thanksgiving Break and all. Well please review and such! Thank you for reading! BTW I combined a lot of the chapters because they all seemed to be a little on the short side, that is why there are only three chapters, but really there are six combined. Make sense? Probably not, anyways I want to thank you all for reading and an update is in the works. **


	4. Too Little Too Late

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters!

Chapter 4: Too Little Too Late

Danielle Golding made her way back to the dormitory to meet Harry. He was going to take her to Hogsmeade with Hermione and Ron. The "date" was supposed to be just him and Danielle but Harry chickened out at the last minute and invited his friends.

Danielle had to admit that she was excited. She and Hermione had gotten ready together. Danielle wore a charcoal gray sweater with turquoise and purple argyle going around the front. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Hermione had on a raspberry colored cardigan with a white blouse underneath. Her hair was down and curly.

Danielle saw Hermione waiting with Ron by the fireplace. She couldn't quite make out what they were talking about, but whatever it was it was making Hermione blush. Harry wasn't there yet.

"Hey guys!" she said

"Hello Danielle" said Hermione cheerfully.

"Harry's still not ready?" Danielle asked the two.

Ron shrugged. "He should be out any minute" he said.

Almost on cue Harry came bustling down the stairs, his hair messy as always. He was wearing a navy blue and white plaid button up shirt that was obviously too big for him.

"Hello Harry!" said Danielle beaming.

"Evening" Harry replied to her. He was clearly nervous.

"Fred and George are meeting us at Zonko's" said Ron.

"Great. Shall we go then?" Hermione suggested.

Danielle followed the trio to Hogsmeade village. About five minutes later the group wandered into Zonko's Joke Shop. Danielle could make out the familiar red headed twins standing in the corner. She remembered meeting them back when she stayed at the Weasley's.

Fred and George looked up to see the quad.

"Well hello my pretties!" one of the twins said, George thought Danielle.

"Aha! Miss Golding, how wonderful to see you again." Said the other twin, which must have been Fred.

"Why thank you Fred." Danielle replied.

"Well what do ya know? She can tell us apart better than our own mother!" Said Fred.

"And brother" added George with a smirk towards Ron.

"Yeah, yeah" Ron said as he waved them away.

Danielle laughed with Hermione and Harry. George looked over at Danielle and winked. She blushed. There was an extremely awkward silence that followed.

"Well let's not sit here and insult poor Ronny." Said Fred, breaking up the awkward moment. Ron's face flushed bright red. George held out his arm for Danielle to take. She blushed again before glancing at Hermione who was smiling big. Ron looked disgusted, while Harry looked…the same. His face had returned to the same undetectable expression. She hesitated before smiling and linking arms with George.

Ron's mouth dropped open before he himself lent his arm to Hermione. She giggled before taking his arm. Fred seeing that Harry was still alone jokingly offered his arm to him. Harry gave a slight laugh before walking off on his own.

After a long tour of Hogsmeade, Danielle and Hermione headed back to the girls dormitory while Ron and Harry headed to the boys.

Hermione and Danielle sat by the fireplace a few hours later, in their PJ's.

"So what's up with you and Ron?" asked Danielle. Hermione blushed.

"Surely I don't know what you mean." She replied

"Oh come on! You guys are flirting every time you are around each other."

Hermione paused before breaking into a huge smile.

"Is it that obvious?" She asked, "Yes I like him, and I'm pretty sure he likes me too." Hermione said.

"Well then why don't you do something about it?" Danielle asked.

"It's not that simple," she replied. "Well what about you and Harry?" she asked Danielle in return.

"Well that's different." She replied.

"Different how?" Hermione badgered.

"Harry is…unstable." Danielle tried to choose her words carefully. She knew once she said it that she had hit a nerve in Hermione.

Hermione looked obviously offended.

"You know what I meant" Danielle said.

"No I don't think I do. Enlighten me please." Hermione said.

"It's just that…I don't want to break his heart." Danielle said

Hermione's expression softened. She seemed to understand.

"Harry's been through a lot. I really don't want to break his heart again." She finished.

"I understand. That's good of you, but maybe Harry's ready for a relationship." Hermione suggested.

Danielle thought about this for a second. Maybe for Harry it wasn't too late, but for Danielle it was…

Harry and Ron sat up in the boy's dormitory.

"I can't stop thinking about her Ron!" Harry said.

"Then ask her out mate!" Ron said like it was the easiest solution in the world.

"Ask her out? If it were that easy I would have done that already!" Harry shouted.

Seamus sat up in his bed across the room and chucked a pillow at Harry's head. He ducked just in time to miss it.

"Shush!" he yelled

"Sorry mate" Harry whispered.

"It's really very simple. You just go up to her and you say 'Hello Danielle, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?', simple as that!" Ron said.

"Ok first of all, the Yule Ball isn't for months. Second of all, if it is so easy why haven't you asked Hermione out?" he asked Ron.

Ron was speechless.

"That's what I thought. Besides I already asked her to go to Hogsmeade with me." Harry said.

"Yeah and you let George steal your date away!" Said Ron.

"If you remember properly, I did sit next to her in the Three Broomsticks." Harry said

"Yeah once," said Ron, "ask her out alone next time."

Harry thought about this. Maybe Ron was right. He decided that tomorrow he would ask her out.

_Three Months Later_

It was December finally and Harry still hadn't asked Danielle out. The Yule Ball was in two weeks and the school was a buzz. The girls were running around talking about who they wanted to go with and what dress they were going to wear. The boys on the other hand were hiding. They were trying to stay away from the crazed girls as best as they could.

Harry knew it was the perfect opportunity to ask Danielle out. All week Ron had helped Harry prep for the moment.

Danielle was walking with Hermione and Ginny down the corridor. Ginny was talking about how Dean Thomas had asked her to the Yule Ball.

Hermione was still dateless, but she was convinced that Ron was going to ask her.

"So what about you Danielle?" asked Ginny

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"Who are you going to the ball with?" she asked again.

"Well as a matter of fact I-"she was cut off when she turned the corner and ran straight into Draco Malfoy.

"Watch it!" Ginny shouted.

Draco looked from Ginny to Danielle. Almost as if she could read his mind, she nodded and turned to her friends.

"You know what, I just remembered that I was supposed to talk to Snape about…a summer internship. I'll catch up with you two later." She said

Ginny and Hermione both looked at each other before walking away. Danielle stayed behind with Draco.

"What do you want?" She asked him

"What are your plans for the ball?" he asked straightforward.

"I plan on going." She answered sarcastically. He smiled.

Danielle was shocked he would even think to ask her. She knew that they had had an ongoing flirtation for months now, but she thought it was nothing.

"I mean do you have a date." He tried again

"Actually I do." She said. Draco didn't look convinced.

"Oh right, and I am supposed to believe that." He said

"Believe what you want." She answered as she turned around and walked away. She saw Harry up ahead and ran to catch up with him.

His back was to her and he jumped when she touched his shoulder.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, haha, sorry" he said with a nervous laugh.

"You sure?" she asked again

"Well actually," he began, "I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, anything."

"Well I was just wondering if you might want to go to the ball with me?" he finished.

Danielle instantly felt like dirt. Her smile quickly faded.

"Oh um…actually Harry…George Weasley already asked me. We're kind of going out." She said, not making eye contact.

Every nerve in Harry's body shut down.

**Well I said I would update didn't I! Please tell me how you like the story so far! Reviews are always welcome!**


	5. Complicated

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters!

Chapter 5: Complicated

Danielle had no intention to go to the Yule Ball with George Weasley. As a matter of fact she was hoping that Harry would ask her, but as the dance was quickly approaching and George had been willing to ask her, she decided to go for it. After all, he was rather charming, and Ginny had kept pushing her to ask someone.

Harry's face when Danielle had said that she was going out with George was heart breaking. Truth was that Danielle had expected that he had asked someone else by now. Hermione wasn't happy about the situation, but she forgot all about it when Ron had asked her to the dance during dinner that night. Hermione version of the way he asked her was a little different than Danielle remembered.

"Did you see how nervous he was about asking me? That means he really likes me right?" Hermione gushed to Ginny and Danielle in the common room later that night. Ginny just rolled her eyes. The real story is that Ron stumbled in the Great Hall after Quidditch practice, covered head to toe in mud and dirt, and blurted out if she wanted to go to the Yule Ball with him. Than he sat down and began to stuff his face with bread pudding.

"Yeah, he really was rather romantic wasn't he Danielle?" Ginny said sarcastically.

"Oh you betcha" she replied. Hermione was too engaged in her story to notice the sarcasm in both the girls' voice.

"So about that summer internship you were talking about earlier…" Hermione said a couple of minutes later.

"What?" Danielle asked. She had completely forgotten about her fake summer internship with Snape. "Oh right, well I don't know about that anymore." She lied. She didn't want to talk about her encounter with Draco. The girls just did not understand her relationship with him. Its not that she liked him or anything, but she also didn't hate him either. It wasn't a friendship though. It was complicated.

Draco's POV

Draco sat in the Slytherin common room alone. The roaring fireplace and his thoughts were his only companions. He had made a complete fool of himself by asking Danielle to the dance with him. And even worse, he was shot down…again. He heard Pansy Parkinson talking to some friends about how Danielle was supposedly dating George Weasley, or as he liked to call him Tweedle Dumb.

Now he was left with no other option than to ask Pansy to the dance with him. He would much rather not go, but that would make him look like an oaf.

As he gazed into the fire his thoughts began to wander back to his family. He missed his mother. He would never admit this out loud of course, but it was true. Draco Malfoy was a mammas boy. His mother, much unlike his father, was sweet and caring. He had no idea what she saw in his father. Perhaps they were forced together at one point, or maybe they had once been in love, but Draco wished that his mother would leave his father once and for all.

His thoughts were interrupted when Crabbe and Goyle came parading back into the room followed by Blaise. He did not want to deal with them right now. Before any of them could say anything he got up and shoved past them into the corridor. He knew that he was not supposed to be out of bed, but he really did not care at the moment. Draco knew he had to go somewhere where he could gather his thoughts. He quickly remembered a room that was fit for the seekers needs. He remembered the room of requirement…

After listening to both of Hermione and Ginny's stories of how their dates had asked them about a million times, Danielle decided that she needed to clear her mind.

"I'll be right back, I need to use the bathroom." She said, but neither girl seemed to notice when she slipped out of the door and into the Hogwarts hallways. She walked down the empty corridors with hopes that Filch and his annoying cat wouldn't find her. She didn't know the castle well enough to know a good place to hide and think. Danielle walked up and down the same corridor about a million times to no avail. After what seemed like the tenth time of pacing, Danielle noticed a door that hadn't been there before. She looked around the corridor and swore she could Mrs. Norris approaching fast. Danielle quickly slipped into the door and closed it quietly so that the cat wouldn't hear. When she turned around she was surprised to see that the room she was in was pretty much exactly what she had wanted.

The room was large and empty, except for a roaring fireplace and couple of end tables and chairs. It was almost like the Gryffindor common room, except somehow it felt different. On one of the end tables she noticed that there was a bottle of firewhiskey with the top off.

'_Someone's here'_ she thought to herself. Instead of leaving like her instincts told her to, she stayed still and looked around to see if she could spot anyone. No one seemed to be in the room with her. She began to walk towards the inviting fireplace and a nice comfy leather chair when she heard what sounded like sobbing. She stopped dead in her tracks.

The noise was coming from the chair opposite the one that she was going towards. The back of the chair was facing her so she couldn't make out who occupied it. All that was visible was the top a very blonde head.

Suddenly it hit Danielle like a badly done spell. Draco Malfoy was sitting in that very chair. But again instead of leaving, something told her to stay. Danielle ventured forward towards the empty seat. She heard the sobbing stop and Draco's head peak out from behind the chair. He was holding a half empty glass of the liquor that came from the bottle. He looked angry, but at the same time he seemed like he needed someone to talk to.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked with a bit of a slur.

"I was looking for a place to clear my mind. This door seemed to appear out of nowhere." She said.

"That's because you found the room of requirement. It appears when a person needs something or somewhere to go." He said.

"So that means you needed a place to think also. Did you supply the firewhiskey or did the room do that too?" she asked as she sat down in the empty chair across from Draco's. Another empty glass appeared next to her but she did not take it.

"That was me." He said with a vacant expression.

"So is there a reason you needed to get away?" she asked

"People. People are the reason that I needed to get away." He stated simply.

Draco expected Danielle to look confused or to ask if he was crazy, but instead she nodded with understanding.

"Yeah I know what you mean." She said simply.

"Oh do you now?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I mean everyone talking about who they are taking to the Yule Ball and what they are wearing. It gets sickening. Besides, all Hermione wants to talk about is if I am up to date on my homework. It gets a bit annoying. I don't know if you know this about her, but she can be a bit of a know-it-all." She said with a sigh of exasperation.

Draco laughed. Danielle looked taken aback, but soon she joined in his laughter.

"Look Draco, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for earlier. About what I said to you about the dance. I shouldn't have assumed that you were going to ask me." She finished as she poured herself a small glass of the firewhiskey and gulped it back without a wince.

Draco just stared at her. He should have been furious that she was making a fool out of him, apologizing to him for trying to ask her to the dance. But instead he couldn't get one thing off of his mind.

"You called me Draco." He said

Danielle looked confused.

"That is your name right?" she said

"Yes but…no one calls me that except for my mother and…Pansy" he said her name with a grimace.

"Oh sorry, is that a bad thing?"

"No it's just that, I thought everyone hated me because of what my father does and because they all think I am destined to be a death eater."

"Draco just because your father is a death eater doesn't mean that you are bad too. Everyone has a little bad in them, but they have some good in them too." Danielle said with a warm smile.

Draco began to smile back, but then he stopped. "We should get back to bed before Filch catches us." He said plainly.

"Yeah good idea."

Draco downed the rest of his whiskey and headed for the door. He had his hand on the door when the sound of Danielle's voice stopped him.

"I would have said yes." She said

"What?" he asked

"To the dance, I would have said yes, if George hadn't already asked me."

Without a word Draco smiled to himself and snuck quietly out the door.

Deep down inside Danielle knew that would she had said was a lie. She couldn't be seen with Draco at the dance. But she knew that she had wanted to go with him. It was all just so…complicated.

**Yay! An update for y'all! So sorry it's been forever, but I have no excuse except laziness. I guess you could say I was inspired to write again after seeing the new movie. Well reviews would be splendid! **


	6. Green With Envy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

Chapter 6: Green with Envy

Danielle awoke the next morning with a slight headache. Apparently firewhiskey had a lot more alcohol than regular muggle whiskey. She turned to the side and noticed that Hermione and the rest of the girls had already gotten up and were getting ready for the days events. Today was Saturday and it was the second trip to Hogsmeade. Today was when Danielle was finally going to see George again, and she and Hermione were going to look for dressing robes for the ball that was only a few days away.

Danielle dragged herself out of bed and walked slowly over to her trunk with her hand held on her forehead. The room seemed to be spinning wildly. She heard Lavender Brown snigger, but she was in too much of a state to think of something clever to say.

"Late night?" asked Hermione quietly so that the other girls wouldn't hear her.

"Huh?" she played dumb. It must have been about 3am when Danielle had finally gone to bed.

"Well you never came back from the restroom and when I went looking for you, you weren't there. I heard you come back late. Are you sick?" She asked with a worried expression.

"No, I just needed to go take care of something that's all."

Danielle pulled open her trunk and knelt down in front of it to rummage through her clothes. She pulled out her favorite black and pink floral dress with the zipper front and pink tights to match and her black riding style boots. It was her favorite outfit and she wanted to look good for her date. Hermione wore her usual smart attire, which consisted of a gray skirt and brown thin belt with a white blouse and a light pink cardigan over the top and her black maryjanes. Both girls left the room to meet Ginny downstairs. Ginny was meeting Dean in Hogsmeade for her own date and Hermione was going to go off on her own to shop for her usual odds and ends.

Ginny was waiting impatiently downstairs pacing back and forth.

"Finally! You two took forever getting ready." She exclaimed.

Hermione and Danielle cast each other a look. Ginny was normally the one to take forever getting ready. The three headed off towards Hogsmeade. As they entered the village, Danielle's heart gave a leap as she saw George standing by himself in front of Zonkos. He had obviously gone there first to get some supplies for his own joke shop that he and Fred ran. It was rare when George was not accompanied with Fred, so he looked rather awkward standing by himself.

"I'll meet you two after lunch with George" she said with a smile. Ginny rolled her eyes, while Hermione was happy for her friend. The two girls walked off towards a small café at the end of the village.

"Well hello there Beautiful. You're looking smashing today, as always." George said with a famous wink. Danielle blushed at his comments.

"You don't look so bad yourself Weasley." She replied.

"So where shall we go for lunch my dear?" he asked.

"How about the three broomsticks?" she suggested.

"That sounds splendid." He agreed.

The two walked hand and hand to the Three Broomsticks and took a seat in a small booth in the back of the restaurant.

Lunch was awkward. Neither Danielle nor George didn't really know what to talk about. It seemed that they didn't have enough in common to keep small talk going.

"So how is the joke shop going? Everything working out ok?" she asked. Truth was that she had never been to the joke shop. She was supposed to go when she had first arrived at the Weasley's, but they had never made it there. With school it was difficult to visit.

"Its good, business is slow with all of our best customers at school." He said with as must charm as he could muster in the situation.

"Right, understandable." She agreed. Her attention was starting to falter. Suddenly someone walking in the door caught her attention. Draco Malfoy was walking into the Three Broomsticks with his friends. Danielle's stomach was instantly filled with butterflies. She had no idea why, but she suddenly sat up straight and began to primp herself. George seemed to notice, but he believed that she was doing it all for him, because he started to blush.

Draco seemed to not to notice Danielle right away, but suddenly his eyes found hers and they held each others gaze for a second before Draco noticed who was with her. He quickly had a look of disgust. The slytherins took seats at the bar and all began to drink there butterbeer. Pansy sat right next to Draco at the bar and slid her hand onto his upper thigh. Draco thought about shoving it away, but glanced in Danielle and George's direction again. Danielle was talking to George, but he noticed that her eyes kept sneaking looks in his direction.

He smirked. _'That's the way she wants it, let the games begin' _Draco thought. He slid closer to Pansy and put his hand on her side. Pansy didn't seem phased at all. Danielle however felt something different in her stomach. It was like she was going to either get sick, or scream out in rage. She knew what game he was playing, but he was not going to win. She shot her gaze back to George who was looking awkwardly out the window.

"Say George, I was wondering what I should wear to the ball. What color do you think looks best on me, red or black?" she asked. He looked uncomfortable answering.

"Uhh-"

"It must be hard to picture it huh? Well how about this then," she grabbed his hand and began to massage it gently, "picture us dancing at the ball, and I am wearing a very tight dress. What color is it?" she asked very loudly. Her eyes sneaking peeks at Draco, who was pretending not to listen, but it was hard considering that everyone else in the Three Broomsticks was.

George blushed but got his smile back.

"Red I guess, it matches our hair." He laughed awkwardly and then turned away and blushed again. Danielle was disappointed that he hadn't answered at all how she wanted. She could have sworn that she saw Draco laugh to himself. Draco moved even closer to Pansy and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle and look their way.

Danielle knew that she had lost. She let go of George's hand.

"You know what George, I don't feel very well. I think it was the food." She said, which wasn't exactly untrue. The food really was awful. George looked concerned.

"Maybe you should go back. Go shopping with the girls another day." He said

Danielle felt horrible. George really was trying and he was very sweet.

"You're probably right."

The pair got up and George put his arm around Danielle as they exited the restaurant. Draco watched the two leave and then immediately shoved Pansy away. She looked alarmed and pissed at the same time.

Outside Danielle and George said their goodbyes.

"I'll see you at the dance then." He said. She nodded with a smile. He turned to apparate away, but not before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

Danielle stood alone in Hogsmeade. She couldn't quite figure out what had just happened. She had felt something strange back there. It couldn't be jealously could it? She didn't feel that way about Draco. She had a great boyfriend, so why feel jealous about what Draco does with Pansy. Nothing was making any sense. And with that she headed back to Hogwarts to think it all through.

Back at the castle Danielle was on her way to the Great Hall for supper. She hadn't found Hermione or Ginny to tell them that she wasn't going to be shopping that day, but she assumed they thought the date had run over. Everyone was already there and waiting for the food to appear. Hermione looked up when she saw Danielle walking towards them.

"What happened? Date run over" she asked, confirming Danielle's suspicion.

"I didn't feel well so I left early. Sorry I couldn't find you guys to tell you."

"That's alright. Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked with a genuinely worried expression.

"Yes, a lot better." She lied. She had been thinking about her encounter with Draco at the Three Broomsticks for hours. It was driving her crazy.

"Hermione and I found the perfect dressing robes! I'd be glad to go back with you to look if you want." Ginny said excitedly.

"No that's alright, I think I want to surprise everyone." She decided. "I want to give everyone something to remember" Danielle said as she cast a glance at the slytherin table.

**I hope you all liked the update! The next chapter is….the Yule Ball! I have a lot planned for this so I am getting started now. Please review!**


	7. Your Love Is a Song

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. Sadly that right is to JK Rowling.

Chapter 7: Your Love Is a Song

Danielle woke up suddenly the next morning. It was the morning of the Yule Ball. She didn't know why but she felt nervous. Her whole days schedule flashed in her mind. It was Saturday and there were no classes, so that left her with a lot of free time before she and the girls were planning on getting ready. She hadn't let anyone seen her gown that she had specially ordered from her hometown, but she had had a glimpse at Hermione's and Ginny's and they both looked gorgeous.

Hermione was sitting up in her bed with the same nervous expression as Danielle. They glanced at each other and laughed.

"You look like your going to be sick." Hermione laughed.

"Yeah, well you look like you've just found out you got an F on a school assignment." Danielle doubled over in her bed. Hermione suddenly stopped laughing and got serious.

"Don't even joke about that." She said. Danielle burst out laughing again and eventually Hermione joined in. They both hopped out of bed and dressed in the first thing they could find and begun to make their way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"So why are you so nervous? From what I've heard you have been to one of these things before." Danielle inquired.

"Well my first Yule Ball was kind of a disaster." She replied.

Danielle gave a puzzled look, wanting to know more.

"I had the most gorgeous date, the perfect dress robe, and the best time." Hermione said.

"And the disaster part is…?"

"I wasn't with the person I wanted to go with. Ron was too nervous to ask me and so I wound up going with Viktor Krum." She finished.

Danielle's eyes got very wide. "Viktor Krum? As in the most famous Quidditch player ever? He was your date?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes, but though he is very attractive, he isn't much of a talker and we didn't have anything in common."

"Wow, your so lucky." She said.

"Says the girl who is going with one of the famous Weasley twins." Hermione said.

"Since when is George famous?" she asked.

"Since they scared away Dolores Umbridge and opened the most successful shop in Diagon Alley." Hermione replied.

"Wow I had no idea I was dating such a famous wizard." Danielle said sarcastically. Both girls began to laugh again as they entered the Great Hall. The room was a buzz with students talking excitedly about the dance later that night. The boys seemed to be on one end of the table and the girls on the other.

The girls sat down at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Neville. Neville was in the middle of talking about how Hannah Abott had finally accepted his offer for a date to the dance. Harry was taking Luna but he wasn't really looking forward to it. It wasn't that he disliked Luna, it was just that he would rather be taking Danielle instead.

Hermione and Ron sat awkwardly next to each other and hardly talked. It was clear that both of them were nervous about the date later on. Harry and Neville spoke eagerly about an upcoming Hogsmeade trip that they were excited about, and Ginny and Danielle were talking about how to do their hair.

When the awkward breakfast was over, the gang got up to leave the Great Hall. Danielle noticed that Draco Malfoy was no where to be seen. He hadn't shown up to breakfast at all. Not that it bothered her; it was just something that she had noticed. Harry seemed to notice Danielle staring at the Slytherin table as they were leaving.

"Someone you're looking for?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh no, just daydreaming I guess." She said with a nervous laugh. Danielle walked ahead of him as Harry gave another look towards the table with an inquiring look.

The rest of the free time was spent out by the lake, even though it was rather chilly, sitting under their favorite tree. Though it was winter, it still hadn't snowed at Hogwarts. Danielle was a little disappointed. Winter was her favorite season and she looked forward to the first fallen snow.

It reached six o clock and the girls all bid their goodbyes to the boys for the time being. They all scurried up to the dorms to begin getting ready.

"Bloody hell, why does it take them so long to get ready?" Ron asked.

"Beats me." Harry said.

"Well I know that I can wait to the last possible minute to get ready." Ron said.

"That's because you're stuck wearing the same dress robes as third year." Harry laughed. Ron's ears turned a bright shade of pink.

"Yeah, well I happen to like them now. I like to think they are quite stylish." He defended himself.

"Keep telling yourself that mate." Harry said as he began to laugh even harder.

In the girls dormitory there was a lot going on. Lavender and Parvati were busy helping each other get ready. Ginny was helping Hermione tame her curls a bit, which left Danielle to get ready by herself. She actually preferred it that way. She wanted everyone to be surprised.

Danielle glanced over at Ginny. She was finishing smoothing out her dress, which was a mint green tulle gown. The top was an elegant strapless style with a light pink shawl that was made of the same material. Her red hair was pulled tight into an equally elegant chignon bun.

Hermione had just finished on her hair which was still curly but was pulled into a beautiful half French braid and then the rest of her hair was laid down in smooth curls. Her dress was gorgeous light pink velvet, with pretty short sleeves and a scoop neck top.

"I'm ready" she said.

"Me too," said Ginny, "the boys should be waiting by now. You coming?" she called to Danielle who was still in the corner doing her makeup. Her dress wasn't on yet.

"I will meet you down there?" she said with a smile.

"Suit yourself. We'll wait for you in the entrance hall." Hermione said.

All the girls left, leaving Danielle to get ready by herself.

In the Entrance Hall Luna and Harry were already standing together. As expected Luna had on a rather eccentric gown. It was a gold color with blue sparkles all around the skirt. It was pretty, just eccentric. Ron was waiting nervously until Hermione joined him. Dean stood with Ginny on his arm. Harry seemed to act strange about the new couple. George Weasley stood awkwardly alone. Without Fred there with him he felt strange, especially because he left Hogwarts the previous year and didn't have anyone in his age group to chat with.

"She said she was meeting us downstairs?" he asked nervously

"Yes George, calm down." Ron said.

"Ok, it's just that it's been a while." He said

"George it's been ten minutes. It's fine." Ginny said annoyed.

"There she is!" Hermione said finally. Everyone turned and looked at Danielle as she cascaded down the entrance hall confidently. She looked stunning. She caught the eye of everyone in the room, including a certain slytherin. Draco stood in the far corner with his date, Pansy Parkinson. His mouth dropped open.

Danielle was wearing a sleek sheen of emerald. The top was made of silk, with cap sleeves and a classic black bow tied around the middle. The bottom was ball gown style, made of emerald tulle. Her hair was down, which rarely happened, and was laid in luminous red curls. Her silver strappy heels gave her a bit of height so that she stood about the same height as her date.

George smiled very wide and held out his arm to take hers. She smiled as well as she took his offered arm.

"You look spectacular my love." He said.

"Why thank you George, you don't look too bad yourself." She said.

"Shall we?" he said with a wink.

The group all began to make their way into the Great Hall for the festivities. Just before entering Danielle looked over her shoulder across the room at Draco Malfoy. Pansy was talking to him, but he was locking eyes with her. He nodded with a smirk, and she nodded back.

Inside everyone sat down and immediately was served their meal. Hermione scolded Ron for stuffing his face, but soon began to laugh at this and was joined in laughter by Harry, Neville, George and Danielle. Dean and Ginny seemed to be lacking conversation, so Harry and Ginny chatted while Luna and Dean talked some about the Quibbler's latest issue.

Soon it was time to dance. Hermione had to pull Ron out of his seat to dance, but soon they were clumsily making their way across the dance floor laughing having the best time. Harry and Luna danced and talked some more about the Quibbler. Ginny and Dean danced some but it was clear that there was some tension between the two. At one point Ginny angrily stomped out of the Great Hall and left a confused Dean to sit by himself. Danielle and George danced for what felt like hours. They were the star couple of the ball, George being somewhat of a celebrity and Danielle looking like Cinderella. Though the night was fun, she felt like her and George had nothing much to talk about. It was the same feeling she had been getting on their date earlier in the week.

After the third dance in a row Danielle and George decided to sit down and take a break. George spotted a former Quidditch mate across the room.

"Do you mind if I pop over to say hello?" he asked.

"Sure, it's not everyday you get to see an old friend." She said with a smile. Her kissed her lightly on the lips and made his way across the room.

Danielle sat alone watching the dance play out. She noticed that Harry had excused himself and had followed Ginny out of the Great Hall to see if she was alright. Luna was now dancing solo in the middle of the floor, completely oblivious to what was going on. Suddenly Danielle felt eyes on her from somewhere in the room. She scanned the dance floor and spotted no one. She turned around and saw Draco Malfoy standing in the dark corridor alone. She seemed to be the only one who had noticed him. She chose to ignore him. She glanced over to the other side of the room and saw that George and his friend were clearly in deep conversation. Getting up she headed out of the Great Hall to get some air outdoors.

She opened the doors and the grounds were filled with couples walking and holding hands. She walked around until she reached her favorite spot. The tree by the lake. She stood out staring at the lake until she felt a cold winter chill hit her.

"Shoot!" she cursed herself for leaving her shawl indoors. Before she could turn around to walk back indoors her shoulders were covered by a black dress jacket with a green flower in the pocket.

"Thanks Geor-" she began as she turned around.

George Weasley was not standing behind her, but Draco Malfoy was.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"You looked cold so I gave you my jacket." He stated.

"I meant what are you doing out here? What did you follow me?" she asked.

"Well I saw you leave and I was curious as to where you were going."

"Won't your precious Pansy be missing you?"

"Yeah probably, but that's why I'm hiding. She's bloody annoying. Can't lose her." He said with a pitiful look. Danielle couldn't help by laugh.

"What about Weasley? Decided he was as lame as the rest of his family." He asked in return.

"No, he found an old friend of his."

Draco's expression changed. His face had softened some and he looked her straight in the eyes. "I don't know how anyone could leave a date so beautiful." He said.

"Your not serious." She said, her eyes locked with his.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he chuckled. "Seriously you look gorgeous."

"Thanks." She said awkwardly. A gorgeous slow ballad had started to play in the Great Hall. It could be heard from a distance.

"That's pretty." She said as she stared back at the entrance.

"You're pretty," he said, not taking his eyes off of her. "Would you dance with me?" he asked.

She looked confused and knew it wasn't a good idea. George would be looking for her by now.

"Just a quick dance." She answered reluctantly. He offered his hand to her and she took it slowly. As the music played on, they swayed together.

"Why me?" she asked after a while.

"Because you see the real me. You understand that I'm not the git that everyone else thinks I am. You know how it feels to be different. I can't keep you off of my mind and it drives me crazy! I think I've fallen for you Danielle Golding." He said with his gorgeous smirk.

She couldn't help but melt at every word he was saying. Even though she felt at home in his arms, the little voice in the back of her mind was telling her that this was forbidden. A Slytherin couldn't love a Gryffindor! It wasn't allowed. And yet here she was, feeling the way she was feeling about someone who was not her boyfriend. Feelings that could be described only as love. A single tear began to make its way out of the corner of her eye. Draco reached out to wipe it away. Just as he did a single snowflake landed on her cheek. They both looked to the sky.

"I love the snow." She said with a warm smile.

"I love you." He said. She looked back at him. Her eyes gazing into his, and she believed him. She saw something in his eyes that she never could see in Georges. He reached out his hand and cupped her face. Closer and closer their faces came until their lips met in the middle.

Somewhere from behind a near by tree, someone stared in horror at the couple before them. Someone that should not have seen what they had seen.

**I hope you all loved this. It was quite longer than I expected, and it's still not all. I have more of the Yule Ball in the next chapter. As always review and keep reading!**


	8. Better Off

Chapter 8: Better Off

Severus Snape had the sudden urge to burst out from behind the tree and strangle Draco. The foolish boy knew that he wasn't supposed to be mingling with a Gryffindor, or much less Harry Potters new best friend, and there he was kissing this girl. Lucius would be furious, especially since he was supposed to be watching Draco this year to make sure nothing funny happened.

Draco's father had been feeling like his son was pulling away from the life that he was chosen to lead. When Draco was little he had showed such promise as a future death eater. He was smart in his classes, and excelled in potions for sure. Plus he hated Harry Potter almost immediately after meeting him, and that made Lucius ecstatic. But after about his forth year in school he started to drift and though he still held potential, Lucius feared that Draco would someday decide that being a death eater wasn't the right path for him, and though that would make a great life for Draco, it would mean that the entire Malfoy family would be in danger.

So that was how Severus had been enlisted in for help with the boy. As Severus watched the two finally separate themselves from each other, he knew that he had to speak to Draco alone. Danielle made a comment about having to get back to her date and that they should meet tomorrow. As she made her way back into the dance, Snape made sure that he waited a few seconds before making his way out from his hiding place. Draco looked horrified to see him, which made Snape smirk.

"Stupid boy, what on earth do you think you are doing?" he sneered.

"What do you mean sir?" he asked, though the look on his face showed his true horror.

"You know what I mean, do not toy with me. You know that she is forbidden Draco. Your father would kill you, or maybe even her." He said calmly, but with a frightening edge. Draco shivered at the tone in his voice.

"I don't care what my father thinks." Draco said with a sudden burst of confidence.

"Well I do, because I don't want him running off to the dark lord and squealing."

"Why does it even matter? Who cares who I date?"

"The entire death eater community Draco, you know that," Snape said, "You know what the dark lord is capable of doing. You know what he can do to your family if you go against him."

Draco turned away angrily from Snape. He stood silently for a few moments, obviously contemplating the situation.

"I'm meeting her tomorrow. What should I do?" he asked, turning to face Snape again.

"Tell her you didn't mean it. Hurt her. Make her never want to come your way again. Get creative silly boy."

"I can't hurt her." He said simply.

"Well then suffer the consequences."

"Fine! I don't care anymore!" he almost shouted.

"He'll kill your mother, your father too."

Draco immediately fell silent. He couldn't let anything happen to his mother, she was innocent. Sure she had let his father do horrible things to innocent people, but she knew that he did it to save Draco and herself as well. And as much as he hated the things his father did, he couldn't bare to watch him get hurt because of something stupid that Draco did.

"Fine" he said. Snape smiled.

"Good, now do not slip up again." He said as he turned and began to walk slowly back to the Great Hall. Draco looked past him into the Great Hall and saw Danielle talking to George, who didn't look happy.

_The next day_

Danielle stood waiting for Draco in the same spot that they had kissed just yesterday. She could not stop smiling. She had to break up with George the night before, it wasn't fair to him. She knew that she couldn't tell him the exact reason for the break up, in fear that he would tell his brothers who would tell Harry and Hermione and that wasn't good. Instead she told him part of the truth, that they didn't have much in common. He was hurt she could tell but he kept the old Weasley twin's smile on and agreed that they should see other people.

She stood eagerly glancing at her watch waiting for Draco. It was almost ten minutes past the time in which they were supposed to meet and she was supposed to meet her friends for dinner in 20 minutes. Suddenly she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see a bitter looking Draco.

"Its about time, I thought you had forgotten about me." She said with a smile. She reached out her hand for him to pull him closer to her but he stopped about five feet away. She looked confused.

"What are you doing? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah something is wrong, I take it back." He said simply and began to turn around to leave but he heard her begin to laugh.

"Yeah very funny." She said.

His expression didn't change. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"No you don't understand" he said again.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked again as she took a step forward and reached out to him again. This time he shoved her away. He had to focus his eyes on something behind her, in fear that looking into her hurt eyes would change his mind and he would melt into her yet again.

Tears immediately began to form in Danielle's eyes, but she refused to show them.

"Oh I see. You were just playing with me. Is that part of your famous charm? Yank girls around until you get what you want and then you throw them out again." She said angrily.

He didn't answer.

"So everything you said last night was a lie? Everything!" she screamed.

"Danielle you don't understand." He tried calmly.

"No you don't understand! I dumped my boyfriend for you!" she continued to scream.

He just stared beyond her, not looking her in the eyes. The tears that were being pushed back were not streaming out of her eyes. She turned around and wiped them away. She folded her arms around her and sobbed. She was so embarrassed and she needed to get away now.

Draco couldn't take it, he didn't care what Snape said. He began to reach for her until she turned around and slapped him hard on the face. He stared dumbstruck at her until she ran past him right into the Great Hall were the other students were gathering for dinner.

**I hope you liked it all! Will Draco ever really admit his true feelings? Will Danielle crawl back to George? An update is in the works! In the meantime review and tell me what you all think! **


	9. Dawn

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HP characters. As sad as it may be.

Chapter 9: Dawn

It was finally Christmas Eve, and Danielle stood at Kings Cross station. She and the gang were going to the Burrow for Christmas. Her aunt had wanted to see her during Christmas so instead of her going back to New York, her aunt Dawn was coming to see her and stay at the Burrow.

Though her week at been less than great, she was actually excited to see her aunt again. She had been living with her since she could remember, but instead of Dawn feeling like her mother, or even her aunt, so felt much more like her cooler older sister. She was young, in her mid thirties, and she owned a boutique in New York. The boutique was struggling, but Dawn just couldn't bear to give it up. Fashion was her thing now, since she had given up magic a long time ago, more specifically around the time that her older sister and brother in law had lost their lives while working at the hospital.

Everyone had been a little more than curious as to why Danielle had been acting so strangely ever since the Yule Ball. It had been a week since the ball and Danielle had been less than cheery. She would wake up and go to classes, that was it. She had lost her charm and everyone couldn't quite figure it out. Not only had she been so strange, she also broke up with George unexpectedly.

Dawn was supposed to meet everyone at the Burrow later that night. The Order was meeting then as well. Ever since the return of Voldemort and the death of Sirius, the Order was more alert than ever.

Harry and Ron sat on a bench waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to come and take them back to the Burrow. Danielle, Hermione, and Ginny stood in a corner chatting about Christmas and other things.

"I'm not saying that I'm not grateful, but I swear if I get another sweater for Christmas this year I might scream. Last year I got a rash all over my neck from the turtleneck jumper she knit." Ginny complained.

Hermione giggled, "I love your mum's jumpers she makes us. It's the thing I look forward to the most. Danielle I bet she knit you one too!"

Danielle wasn't listening. Instead her gaze was focused on a certain slytherin. Draco had just met with his mother and father. They were heading right this way. She tried not to look at him, but she couldn't help but stare at him out of the corner of her eye. Draco didn't even seem to notice her and walked right past her.

_The nerve of him! I cannot believe that he is pretending that nothing happened. _Danielle thought.

"Danielle!" Ginny yelled. Apparently she had been talking to Danielle.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" she said.

"Never mind, there's my parents." Ginny said pointing towards the incoming redheaded couple.

Later that evening Danielle sat in front of the fireplace in the living room. Hermione, Ron and Ginny were all playing a card game that Hermione had taught them. Fred and George were sitting whispering in the kitchen, which was never a good thing for anyone around them. Kingsley had arrived with Remus and Tonks earlier and they were all enjoying a drink in the dining room with Arthur and Molly.

Danielle just couldn't get him off of her mind. She had tried for a week straight but to no avail. It wasn't like she wanted to think about him, but it was more like she was afraid that if she didn't think about him, then what had happened between them would really go away. Not the bad stuff, but the good things. He had said that he loved her and she couldn't figure out why he would lie about something that serious.

Harry sat down next to her by the fire. He had sensed something was wrong with her and now he was going to confront her about it.

"Having fun?" he asked her

"Oh yeah, loads of fun over here." She answered sarcastically.

"Look I'm going to cut to it. I know that something is bothering you and I think I know what it is." He said

Danielle's eyes got wide. How could Harry know?"

"You do?"

"Oh yeah. It's obvious."

"It is?"

"Of course!" he suddenly lowered his voice. "You think you made a mistake with George. You miss him, right?" Harry said as he nodded in the direction of the mischievous twins. Danielle couldn't help but laugh. Harry look obviously confused by her reaction, but she couldn't very well tell him the truth. So she decided to play along instead.

"Yeah I guess that's it. I guess I do…miss George." She said. Almost as if on cue George Weasley popped up next to the duo.

"Did I hear my name dollface?" he asked with his signature charming wink.

"What? No, I don't think so, did you hear me say George's name?" she asked Harry.

"No I don't remember…um nope not your name," he laughed.

"One day she'll come back to me." George said to Harry who just rolled his eyes.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Dawn!" Danielle squealed as she hopped up off the floor and ran straight for the door. She opened it and a tall red head that looked eerily like Danielle entered the room. Dawn was equally as pretty as Danielle. She wore a fashionable black wrap dress paired with red tights with light red hearts all over them. Her black mary-jane heels shined perfectly. She was a striking image of Danielle.

"Dawn!" Danielle squealed again.

"Danny!" the gorgeous red head replied in the same excited tone as they hugged.

"I don't believe it." said Harry.

"Me either" said Hermione. Suddenly Danielle and Dawn became aware that the entire household had gathered to stare at them.

"What?" The girls asked in unison.

"Its just that…she's…"Hermione started.

"She looks just like me right?" Danielle asked

"She's British!" Ron yelled. The whole room went silent. Suddenly everyone burst out in laughter.

"I told you I used to live in London when I was younger. Dawn grew up there, so the accent stuck." Danielle explained.

"I actually went to Hogwarts." Dawn explained.

"Dawn Bowman? Is that you?" Said Remus Lupin as he entered the room.

"Remus Lupin! Oh my word, how long has it been?" Dawn squealed as she ran into the room. Both laughed and hugged each other, much to Tonks dismay. She was clearly not happy that they two appeared to know each other.

"How do you two know each other?" Harry asked.

"We went to school at the same time, but I was a couple years younger. We dated for a while actually." Dawn said as Remus blushed.

"I wouldn't say dated. It was more like a fling." Remus added. Dawn giggled uncontrollably at this.

The whole room was distracted so nobody noticed when a small off white owl perched on the window cooed into the living room. Someone did notice though. Harry Potter saw the owl and immediately ran over to grab the small note that was attached to the creature's leg. He noted that the letter was for Danielle but just as he was about to give it to her he noticed where the letter was from. The address read Malfoy Manor.

This owl belonged to Draco Malfoy.

**I hope you all liked this update! I have another chapter being written so it shouldn't take long until I can get it to you guys!**


	10. Dangerous to Know

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters

Chapter 10: Dangerous to Know

Harry stared down at the unopened letter in his hand. He had withheld it from Danielle for a week not and the group was about to head back to Hogwarts. He couldn't understand why Draco Malfoy was sending a letter to Danielle.

It could be possible that Danielle didn't know the answer to this question also. But Harry couldn't put it out of his mind that maybe, just maybe, she and Draco had something more going on than what meets the eye.

Finally after several sleepless nights he had decided to on what to do. He was going to leave the letter for Danielle in her room and wait and see what she does.

Hermione, Ginny, and Danielle went to the joke shop with the twins for the day while Ron and Harry stayed behind to sleep in. He left the letter on her pillow. Later at dinner everyone ate and talked as usual. Danielle showed no signs of strangeness.

Little did Harry know, she had read the letter, and she had no idea what to do about it.

_Earlier_

Danielle had just gotten back from a day with the girls at Fred and George's joke shop. She ached with the pain of George's lame yet still hilarious jokes and his constant flirtatious attitude. What she needed was a nap.

"I'm exhausted, what about you guys?" Danielle asked her friends.

"Not really, you can go upstairs and lay down for a bit if you want." Ginny replied. Hermione smiled and nodded in agreement.

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not. Go ahead." Hermione said.

Danielle dragged herself upstairs and into the room she was sharing with Ginny and Hermione. Right before she plopped down on the bed she noticed an envelope lying on the pillow. It had her name on it. What freaked her out the most was that it was from Draco.

With shaking hands she ripped open the envelope.

_Danielle, _

_There is something that I have been wanting to tell you. Something that I wanted to say since the Yule Ball. I thought about waiting until after the Holidays but it couldn't wait. I wasn't completely in honest with you. My life is complicated. You have no idea what my family is like. They don't understand what its like to be me. I'm different, but the thing is I'm not allowed to be. If I ever told my father that I didn't want to follow in his footsteps, I could be…in trouble. My family could get in trouble. Like I said, it's complicated. I thought I was protecting you by pretending to hate you but I can't do that. I don't blame you if you never want to speak to me again. Maybe we can start over. Try to be friends? If I don't hear from you I'll understand. _

_Yours truly, Draco_

By the end of the letter Danielle found her heart pounding in her chest, her exhaustion forgotten. Draco had lied to her. To protect his family and her. He wanted to be friends! Everything was starting to fall back into place. One thing didn't fit though. Who had put the letter on her pillow? Whoever it was would have seen the address and known that Draco had sent her the letter. The letter itself was dated a week ago. Whoever it was had kept the letter from her. She heard laughter from downstairs. Maybe she would find out at dinner.

An hour later everyone sat down at the table for dinner. Harry sat across from Danielle while Hermione and Ginny sat on either side of her. Dawn sat at the end of the table where she continued to tell exciting and entertaining stories about her rebellious years as a teenager and young adult while everyone laughed like crazy. Including Ron and the twins who laughed a little more than necessary.

Danielle tried to act normal but she couldn't help looking around trying to find any signs that anyone had any idea she had read the letter. Everyone was paying close attention to Dawn's charming ways. Harry on the other hand laughed occasionally but continued to shoot Danielle wary looks. If Harry knew he wouldn't confront her right away. That was for sure. She was in the middle of deciding what to do when the Weasley's owl landed right in the middle of the kitchen table.

There was a letter for Hermione from her parents, a few letters for Fred and George, and finally one for Danielle. It was unmarked and the envelope was different than the letter from Draco. Before she opened it she noticed Harry shoot an interested look in her direction before going back to paying attention to Dawn.

The letter was short and sent a chill down her spine.

_I know who your family really is. You're in danger. Be aware. Someone close to you is watching. _

That was all the letter said. The handwriting was messy and smudged. So different than Draco's. What did they mean when they said "I know who your family really is?" Her parents worked at the hospital. At least that's what her aunt had told her. What she remembered of them was that they were very sweet. Maybe this wasn't meant for her. Maybe the Weasley's owl had found the wrong Danielle. From what she had been told her first week at the Weasley's, their owl wasn't exactly coordinated.

She stuffed the letter in her jean pocket for now, promising to herself to look at it again later. She glanced up again and noticed George looking at her from his end of the table. He lent her a small smile. Things had been extremely awkward since the break-up. After the Yule Ball things between them at seemed to fall back to normal. The break-up had seemed so smooth. But now that they had spent a week together at the Weasley's, Danielle felt herself remembering why she fell for him in the first place. He was unbelievably funny, and was never unhappy.

Then there was Harry. She glanced in his direction. He was now participating in a game that Ron had started, which seemed to be along the lines of closing ones eyes and eating whatever the person gave you. Ginny and Hermione were trying not to laugh, but couldn't help chuckling along with the rest of the table. Harry had been…different every since she met him. He knew her sometimes she thought better than herself. She felt like she could tell him everything, which made it so much more difficult trying to figure out what to do about Draco.

Why did everything have to be so hard? She thought she had loved Draco, and clearly she had been wrong. But what about that letter? Did that change things? She must have looked perplexed because right after dinner was finished Dawn pulled her aside to talk.

"You alright sweetheart?" she asked

"Yeah fine, why?"

"You looked a little wary at dinner. I thought it might have something to do with that letter you got at dinner"

"Well kind of. Is there something that I didn't know about my parents? Something I should know about them?" Danielle asked.

Dawn looked calm, but Danielle knew her well enough to know that deep inside she was panicking.

"Of course not. They were amazing people, you know that." She answered.

"I know, its just that I got this letter. It was unmarked, but it kind of shook me up."

Danielle reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled letter. She handed it to her aunt. Dawn's face went from calm to something Danielle couldn't quite read. She knew her aunt better than anybody, but she could not read her mind now.

"Who sent this?" she asked finally, after a few awkward moments of silence.

"It was unmarked? Do you know something about this?"

"Honey, clearly this came to the wrong person." She said with a sweet Dawn Bowman smile.

"I thought so too." Danielle said feeling a little relieved. Dawn smiled and started to walk away.

"Oh Danny, just to be safe, I would be on the lookout for anything strange." Dawn said with a worried smile. She seemed afraid, but she hid it well. Danielle smiled and nodded.

Dawn walked upstairs to go to bed. Just as Danielle was about to follow her, her exhaustion from before returning, someone grabbed her by the arm. She whipped around, expecting Ginny or Hermione. Instead she found Harry.

"I know about Draco" he said.

**Ok I know its been forever and I'm so sorry. I have been super busy lately, but recently I got a new computer and I have the writing bug again! Hope you all like the update and please review!**


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